Gift
by Pogona104
Summary: Ash came to Cerulean to give Misty a birthday gift but after hearing the girls making fun of all his past gifts he runs out of the gym. Serena then goes goes to comfort Ash in his time of need.


**Okay, it has been some time since I posted a story on ****_FanFiction_****, but here you go. I really hope you enjoy this new one shot, featuring Ash and Serena.**

**So please read and enjoy! And please let me know what you think. And constructive criticism is allowed.**

**_Pokémon_**** does not belong to me, it belongs to its respective creators. **

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**Please read this before the story!** Some of Ash's friends were portrayed out of character, but please understand that the way I portrayed them does not reflect my personal views of the characters. I needed to do this for the story to work. In fact, I plan to do a shipping between them and Ash at some point in the future.

So please, no character bashing.

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**Gift**

A magazine with an ocean liner on the cover was placed down on the coffee table. The woman's hand on top of the article belonged to none other than the eldest sensational sister – Daisy Waterflower. "Check this out; a glorious cruise around the Orange Archipelago!" the woman squealed.

This definitely caught Violet's attention. "Let me see." She reached over for the magazine and looked over the information, with Lily also glancing in: spas, all you can eat buffet, wave pools, and more; the three begun to daydream about their extravagant vacation.

"That sounds great! When does it start?" Lily asked.

"It says next month," Daisy stated, grabbing the magazine to verify that. It did. "And with Misty here to watch over the gym, it looks like we can go!"

The three cheered at the thought of going on yet another vacation. "Um, excuse me?"

The sensational sisters turned their heads to the masculine sounding voice, and see an all too familiar face. The trainer was wearing blue jeans and a simple short-sleeved blue jacket, with a red and white cap, with a poké ball logo on the center. And on his shoulder sat his trusty pikachu.

"Ash, long time no see," Daisy greeted warmly, as Ash and Pikachu approached.

"So what bring you to the Cerulean Gym?" Violet asked, eyeing him. "And wow have you gotten taller," she stated.

"Come for a battle?" Lily asked.

Ash smiled as Pikachu climbed down the boy's shoulders to receive some petting from the girls, which he did. "Cha," the mouse squealed in delight.

Ash smiled at the warm reception he received from Misty's sisters. "Thank you," he replied to the first two questions before answering Lily's. "And no; I actually came by to give Misty this."

Ash gestured to the hand-held box, wrapped in blue wrapping paper, he was carrying. "I didn't have any prior commitments so I thought I come by and surprise her," Ash explained. "I hope I wasn't intruding."

"Not at all, Ash," Lily said.

"If you just go down that hall and take a left at the end of the hall they'll be in the party room."

Ash nods while Pikachu hopped back on to his shoulder. "Thank you."

"No problem, Ash," Daisy said as Ash headed down the hall. After he left the room the girls immediately resumed their earlier matters – the cruise.

Following the instruction Ash and pikachu walked down the halls. "You think they'll be surprised to see us?" he asked his starter.

"Pi!"

Ash smiled and gently scratched his mouse's head. Arriving at the proper locale Ash heard the laughter of his friends. Brock was away in the Johto region; Cilan was busy back at the Striaton City Gym; Tracey was doing field research with Professor Oak in Hoenn; Max was out with the flue, and Clemont and Bonnie were busy back at Luminose City. So all who were present were Misty, May, Dawn, Iris, and Serena.

Ash stopped outside the door to take a small breath. He was glad to see his friends again, but he did wish that the guys were there too – he honestly felt like he was going to be a little out-of-place, being the only boy there. But he shrugged it off. These were his friends. He shouldn't have to feel out-of-place. _Unless they're doing makeup, or something_, he mentally thought with a shiver.

He was about to knock on the door but immediately paused.

"I know, right?" That was Dawn's voice.

"Talk about the world's worst gift giver; seriously, I don't think Ash could give a good gift if his life depended on it." That was Misty's voice.

There was a huff that belonged to May. "You can say that again; last year he got me a Hello Skitty doll. Like, hello, I'm not six anymore!" The room erupted in to laughter.

"Wow, but that certainly beats the lame gift he got me two years ago," Dawn stated.

"What was it?" Iris questioned.

"A plusle and minun magnet," she disclosed with mild disgust. Again, the room erupted in to laughter, and at Ash's expense.

Anger wasn't filling the trainer's heart, but instead, it was sorrow. His friends who he had grown close with were belittling him over the gifts he had gotten them. "That's nothing compared to what he got me a couple of years back," Misty exclaimed the moment the laughter died down.

"What?" Iris and Dawn asked.

"You all know my hatred of bug types, right?" Ash could only assume that the girls nodded in there. "Well, somehow he though it would be an excellent idea to get me a surskit alarm clock!" she blurted. The room burst in to laughing, the sounds literally wounding his heart as he looked at the gift he had gotten Misty.

"I thought she would have loved it," Ash whispered to himself, Pikachu being the only one to hear. He knew the redhead wasn't fond of bugs but with surskit being part water type he thought it would have been a descent gift.

Pikachu patted his friend's head. "Pika pika, pi," he soothingly said, whilst rage boiled up inside of him. How dare they mock Ash like that!

"So what did you do with it?" May asked. Ash listened in on the conversation.

"I shoved it under my bed, duh," she stated coldly. That revelation caused Ash to drop the gift he had planned to give to Misty. There was silence inside the room. If they heard it then they quickly dismissed it as nothing and continued on with their taunting.

With tears starting to form in his eyes he ran back in to the opposite direction, forgetting about the gift he had planned to give Misty. Back in the main area the three sensational sisters looked up when they heard footsteps: they all assumed that the steps belonged to Ash, and that he probably gotten lost. The kid was never good with directions.

"Hey, Ash, is everything –?" Ash just ran passed the three, showing no acknowledgment to Violet's unfinished question. That was highly uncharacteristic of the trainer.

"Ash, wait!" Daisy hollered.

"What's wrong?"

Ash didn't even listen as he continued running out of the room, nearly toppling someone over as he ran out the doors. "Ash?!" the nearly struck person cried, managing to see a lot of pain in his eyes, even if it was just for a brief second.

The girl just stood there momentarily as she wondered why Ash was so hurt. "Serena?" the girl heard her name called by Daisy. She turned to see Misty's older sisters heading her way.

"Why was Ash trying to hold back tears?" Serena demanded.

"He was what?" Lily gasped.

"I don't know; he just went to see Misty and the others then he came running out of the room," Daisy explained, her sisters nodding in agreement.

"So what could have happened?" Serena murmured to herself, her heart aching at the idea of Ash being in pain. To find out the cause the four immediately went down to confront Misty and friends, and when they arrived it wasn't long till they found out why.

Laughter was filling the room and who the laughter was directed at made everyone's blood boil. "He is such a kid!" they heard Iris sneer.

"A cryogonal pillow?" they heard Misty and Dawn laugh.

"But you hate ice types," May exclaimed. "I can't believe how dense that kid is. Does he just go in to the store looking for bad gifts or does he honestly believe we would like that stuff?"

That was enough! The girls laughter came to a sudden halt when the door was suddenly slammed opened, banging on the wall with such force it's amazing that it didn't splinter.

Misty's sisters were furious but that was nothing how angry Serena was; her face was red with anger with steam just ready to blow out of her nostrils. "If that's how you feel about him than none of you deserve to be his friend!" she furiously accused.

All the girls shot to the feet, greatly offended by her outburst. "You have a lot of nerve, Serena!" Misty yelled.

"Yeah, we're just poking a little fun," Dawn defended the group's actions.

"Well your fun caused Ash to run out of the gym on the verge of tears!" Lily rebuked. The room fell in to an icy cold silence.

"H-he h-heard that?" Iris stuttered.

"He did!" Violet barked.

"Ash came by to surprise you, and this is what he got?" Daisy spat.

"I heard Ash say so many great things about all of you; never once did he complain or make fun of you, and this is how you all talk about him behind his back? You all should be ashamed of yourselves," Serena explained, not with anger but disappointment, before walking out on Ash's 'friends', to find him and try to mend his broken heart.

In a park situated at the center of Cerulean city, Ash sat on a bench silently sulking to himself, unsure how to really handle the situation. A few stray tears escaped and streaked down his cheeks. Meanwhile, Pikachu was standing beside his friend trying to comfort him.

"Am I really that bad of a giver?" he said to no one in particular.

"Chu! Pika chu cha pika!" the mouse reprimanded, trying to tell him that he should not be blaming himself for this. And he was indeed right.

Ash gave a light smile to his partner. "Thank you, Pikachu." Ash then turned his attention back to his lap, twiddling his fingers. "I just wish I knew why they were acting like that."

"Because they don't deserve you."

Ash and Pikachu turned to see their latest traveling companion. "Serena?" Said girl approached the two. "You come to make fun of my gifts as well?" he said.

Serena felt a little hurt by the comment but under the circumstances she knew Ash was hurt. She shook her head no. "I came to see if you're all right," she explained, taking a seat next to him.

Ash didn't even look at her. He was too hurt. He attempted to speak before he felt himself embraced by a warm hug, surprising him, and Pikachu. Serena herself was surprised by her actions. "Please know that I took no part in their taunting Ash; I stormed out after I heard them talk like that about you."

"Please don't ever take what they said; they just don't appreciate you," Serena continued. Pikachu nodded in agreement.

Serena then broke away from the hug, blushing a bit when Ash looked at her. He wasn't smiling but he didn't seem as depressed. "You are the most generous guy I know."

Ash smiled at the statement. "I am?" The girl nodded and blushed a bit more as she reached for something in her skirt's pocket.

"In fact, I still have the gift you got me last year," she said, revealing the palm sized charmeleon that's designed to squirt water when squeezed. Ash's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the toy, then to Serena, who was still blushing, and then back to his lap.

The boy sighed. "I am bad gift giver."

"No you're not!" Serena rebuked, earning the boy's attention. "I love your gift and I bring it everywhere, just because it's from you."

This was surprising to Ash. What would make a gift so special because it was from him? Pikachu looked in to Serena's eyes and he all ready knew from what he suspected back in the Kalos region, and smirked.

"Why is it so special because it came from me?" Ash innocently asked.

"Well, for one, you put in a lot of thought in to your gift; two, you're kind and caring; and three, I…." She bit her lip, unable to finish her sentence!

"What? The boy stared in to Serena's blue eyes with his brown eyes.

Serena's heart began pounding harder. Ash really was dense when it came to relationships, though she found that rather appealing at times, but it had its hindrance from time to time. But at the age of fourteen that childlike innocence had always been something she had admired about Ash.

"Pika pika," the mouse said, earning both trainers attention, though he was waiting for Serena's. "Pika pika, chu pi pika chu cha. Pikachu pika pi," the mouse tried encouraging.

Just assuming what Pikachu was saying, she tried again. Taking a quick breather she veered her eyes back to his, her heart beating harder. "What I mean is, I really like, _like_, you," she explained. "You know, _more_ than a friend?"

"Well, I always considered us best friends as well," Ash naïvely replied, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

"Pi!" the mouse shrieked at his trainer's oblivious statement, before falling on to his back.

Serena sighed to herself. But she had to honestly admit to herself that she would giggle about this someday. "Maybe I should show you what I mean."

Ash cocked his head in confusion. Show? What could she mean by this? Pikachu, meanwhile, stood back to his feet waiting in anticipation, knowing all too well as to what was about to happen.

"What do you mean by –?"

His sentence was left unasked, as Ash's eyes widened in surprise while Pikachu stood there approvingly. Serena knelt in and kissed the young trainer on the cheek. The little peck wasn't long, just a second before reeling herself back, her face visibly red, her heart pounding, and her palms sweating as she waited for his response.

"I…." He took a gulp of air before trying to speak again, waiting for his heart to settle just a bit. "I…see now."

Ash looked back at his Kalos traveling partner; her faced is still more red than a rose. The boy rubbed the back of his head. "S-s-so, how long d-did you feel this way," he stuttered a bit.

Serena rubbed the back of her head. "Honestly, I felt like this since we first met back at Pokémon Summer Camp; I didn't know what the emotion was so I forgot about it. But then when I saw you on TV with that garchomp, th-then finally meeting you in person…." She paused there. "That can explain all the blushing when we traveled around together."

"I can't believe I was that dense," he admitted sorrowfully.

"Don't feel bad about it; all I wanted from you was for you to be you," she assured him. "And while I would have preferred sooner I didn't mind waiting."

"Well, I guess your waiting will have to –"

"Oh," she said wit disappointment. "I understand."

"…To wait no more."

Serena's eyes sparked like the starry nights while Pikachu couldn't believe the scene unfolding before him. The yellow mouse felt like he was in some _FanFiction_ story!

"So, would you like to…go out with me?" he nervously asked. "As…boyfriend and girlfriend?" Now that she knew he finished asking she immediately replied:

"Yes!" she screamed in to the sky. She latched on to the trainer in to a tight hug. Pikachu felt some tears forming in his eyes. _My little trainer has finally grown up_, Pikachu thought to himself.

"Ahem." The low cough broke the two trainers from their reverie as they looked at Ash's 'friends'. Pikachu's cheeks began to spark. If they dare came to mock him again he would unleash his strongest electrical attack.

"What, come to laugh at him some more?" Serena growled, placing her hands on her hips.

Misty and the other girls stepped forward. She was also the first to speak. "We came to say…. We came to say sorry," she explained with sincerity.

"We're sorry Ash, we had no right to say those horrible things," Dawn added, not even looking at his eyes, too ashamed to do so.

"You have been nothing but kind to us and I apologize for backstabbing you like that," May added, her gaze directed to the ground.

"Me too, I spent our journey calling you a kid, but my actions showed that I was the child, if not less," Iris admitted.

All of the girls' apologies were filled sincerity. "We'll understand if you don't want to be our friends anymore; but we ask that you'll please forgive us."

Ash stepped forward as the girls awaited the verdict. "Of course I forgive you." Misty's, May's, Dawn's, and Iris' eyes widened in complete surprise.

"You forgive us just like that?" Misty questioned. Ash nodded.

Serena approached her boyfriend with the same surprised expression. "But, Ash, they made fun of you; why forgive them so easily?" Pikachu hopped on his trainer's shoulder all ready knowing the answer.

"Because life is too short to be holding grudges and hating people based on their past actions: while it will certainly take a while to re-earn my trust I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just threw away a friendship over something like this." Ash turned back to Serena. "That's why," he honestly admitted.

Serena just smiled. He truly was the one to not hold a grudge. She guessed that's the reason he would sometimes help Team Rocket in their time of need. Serena's smile grew larger as she stared in to his brown eyes. "So, shall we figure out what to do on our date? Because…I am honestly clueless about what to do."

Pikachu just patted Ash's head. _I guess some things change slower than others_, Pikachu thought.

Serena nodded. "Sure, but first…." Ash's eyes widened as she pressed her lips against his. Gasps escaped from all of Ash's female traveling companions, but eventually they smiled. After a few seconds she broke away.

"Come on, let's go find somewhere to eat," Serena announced as she walked in to a random direction towards the sunset. She stopped to turn back. "You, coming?"

Ash's growling stomach answered for him, inciting a giggle from Serena. "Right behind you," he cheered. _Some things never change_, Pikachu though to himself with a smile.

Ash caught up to Serena, and then they held each others hand before walking off in to the bright orange-yellow sunset, but not without sharing one more kiss.

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**Okay, so what did you all think - Good or bad? Please let me know. And remember, no character bashing. I really hope you enjoyed this story, I put a lot of thought in to this.**

**And if there were any typos or grammar errors let me know and I'll get them corrected, and try to avoid them in the future.**


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